STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Former Staten Islander Albert E. Zammit, 87, of Orange Park, Fla., a U.S. Army veteran and retired bank vice president, died Thursday in the Community Hospice of Northeast Florida, Jacksonville, Fla.

Born in Manhattan, he moved to Travis as a teenager with his family, which had immigrated from Malta. He settled in Florida in 1983.

Mr. Zammit enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1944. He served in World War II, stationed in Austria and Italy, and in the reserves, retiring as a captain, 18 years later.

He then worked for 36 years for Chase Bank in Manhattan, retiring as a vice president in 1983.

Mr. Zammit earned a graduate certificate from Stonier Graduate School of Banking in New Brunswick, N.J.

He was the past chairman of the Council on International Banking in 1977,1978,1980 and 1981. He was also a member of the Knights of Columbus in Florida and in 2006, he was honored with an award for 50 years of continuous service.

He enjoyed woodworking and spending time with his family.

“He was the love of my life, and he was a very special individual,” said his wife of 32 years, the former JoAnne Parrish.

He was a parishioner of St. Catherine of Sienna R.C. Church, Orange Park, Fla., where he served as an usher for over 25 years.

His first wife, Genevieve Zammit, died in 1981, after 26 years of marriage.

In addition to his wife, JoAnne, surviving are his three sons, Paul Zammit, Mark Zammit and Randy Cowart; a brother, Msgr. Joseph J. Zammit; a sister, Matilda Fenech and five grandchildren.

The funeral will be Thursday from the Jacksonville Memory Gardens Funeral Home, with a mass at 11 a.m. in St. Catherine of Sienna Church. Burial will follow in Jacksonville Memory Gardens Cemetery, all in Orange Park, Fla.